Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 573,966 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.2% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.07% of Applied Materials worth $117,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 68.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $256.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $246.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $276.10. The company has a market cap of $203.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.78.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.